Canavero, Sergio

Despite the assurances of Canavero, a number of scientists express doubts that the success of the operation is possible. Well-known neurosurgeons believe that the biochemical differences between the donor and the recipient can lead to unpredictable consequences ^[7] .

Canavero has also been criticized by major medical medical ethics experts ^[8] . He is being reproached for choosing mainly media, rather than professional medical platforms for the presentation of the project ^[9] .

In 2015, the press associated the name of Canavero with the computer game Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain - a Cypriot doctor appeared in the advertising materials of the game, very much like Canavero ^[10] . On this basis, some journalists and netizens suspected that the Canavero project was nothing more than a viral advertisement for a computer game ^{[11] [12]} . Canavero was outraged by this assumption and denied any connection with Konami , claiming that he had never heard of it ^[13] .

In January 2016, Canavero and from in China co-authored an editorial entitled “Human head transplantation. Where do we stand and a call to arms ”, ^[14] in which they complained that their HEAVEN project (the main enterprise of the anastomosis) could fail, due to some problems, of which the existing expert assessment system is the most important, considering the result of the study before publication.

These two researchers addressed private philanthropists, but in their appeal they also mentioned and criticized five of them: Sergey Brin ( Google ), Mark Zuckerberg ( Facebook ), Anne Wojicki ( 23andMe ), Jack Ma ( Alibaba ) and Yuri Milner ( DST Global ).

According to Canavero and Zhen, the most recent breakthrough prizes funded by Silicon Valley billionaires have been awarded for research that will not change the outlook for some diseases because "billionaires still rely on the traditional peer review process." In the same editorial, Canavero and Ren also reported that they are currently gathering a team of researchers from China and Russia, and called on philanthropists and patient associations to make financial donations for the head transplant project. To implement this project requires about $ 20 million. At about the same time, Canavero and Ren also contacted the media directly ^[15] with a statement (supported by video) about a successful live monkey transplant operation in China, similar to experiments performed in the past by Vladimir Demikhov (1954) and Robert J. White (1970). According to Canavero, a monkey head transplant was performed at Harbin Medical University by a team of neurosurgeons led by Xiaoping Ren. There was no talk of a full-fledged transplantation - the researchers did not try to connect the brain to the spinal cord, but only wanted to make sure that the brain can be kept intact when the head and body are separated. To do this, during the operation, they cooled the head of the animal to 15 degrees Celsius. ^[sixteen]

“The monkey survived the intervention without any neurological impairment,” Canavero said and added that 20 hours after the operation, the animal was killed for ethical reasons. Ren called his work a pilot experiment to prevent brain damage during transplantation. The study was preceded by experiments on human corpses; financed by his Chinese government. ^[sixteen]

On November 17, 2017, Canavero reported that a group of Chinese surgeons performed a head transplant on a corpse. The operation lasted 18 hours and was successful. The next stage, according to the physician, should be a head transplant with recorded brain death ^[17] .

A new body is taken from a normal donor who is in a state of brain death. The donor and the recipient simultaneously separate the head from the body (the brain from the spinal cord is separated using a very sharp blade). The patient’s head will be connected to the donor’s body using a special “glue” - polyethylene glycol to bind the nerves of the brain and spinal cord. Muscles and blood vessels will be sutured, and the patient will be placed in a coma for 4 weeks to ensure that there is no movement while the head and body heal. At this time, the patient will undergo electrical stimulation of the spinal cord to strengthen the connections between the head and the new body. When the patient leaves the coma, there is hope that he will be able to move, feel his face and even speak in the same voice. Powerful immunosuppressive drugs will be given to the patient to prevent head rejection. In addition, he will need intensive psychological assistance. ^[18]